Rhododendron

13

I seem to be back to flowers….

The Pacific Northwest has the absolutely perfect climate for azaleas and rhododendrons…. from this tiny mini rhodo in a pot on my deck, to the massive 20 foot tall giant that looms over my back yard.

We are temperate, not too hot and not too cold, and we (usually) have high humidity and lots of moisture for their shallow roots.

The come in all sizes from tiny miniatures to ones larger than the one in our yard. Some are deciduous, some are evergreen. Some start blooming in early to mid-April, others don’t bloom until late-May. Some bloom once, some have a second (albeit not as spectacular) bloom later in the year.

And the colours!

White. Yellow. Pink. Red. Coral. Lilac. Purple. Orange. And every shade in between.

I love them all and I understand why some people are so nutty about them.

Their beauty is fleeting, but something I look forward to every spring.

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